StraightText Help Articles (1)
Bulk Texting 11 min read

How to Send Text to Multiple Contacts Without Group Message

Forrest
Forrest
January 16, 2025

Wondering if how to send mass texts directly from your iPhone to individual contacts? If you’ve ever tried, you’ve probably noticed that replies from recipients often land in a shared group chat, which isn’t always what you’re looking for. Whether you’re coordinating plans or sharing important updates, keeping responses separate can be critical.

The good news is there’s a way to send mass texts while ensuring each recipient gets the message individually. By tweaking a few settings on your iPhone or by using StraightText, you can avoid the confusion of group threads and manage replies more easily.

Can You Send Mass Texts Individually on iPhone?

Yes, you can send mass texts individually on iPhone, and there are a few methods to accomplish this. The native iPhone Messages app allows you to send individual texts to multiple recipients, which ensures each person receives a private message rather than being part of a group chat. However, the built-in method has many limitations so we recommend using StraightText.

Download StraightText to Send Bulk Texts to Multiple Contacts

StraightText is a simple solution for sending mass texts on an iPhone without creating group messages. The software is designed to send individual SMS or iMessage texts privately, ensuring every response remains in a separate thread, without limitations. Here’s how to use it.

1. Create Your Message

After opening StraightText, begin by creating your message in the provided text field. Think about how your message will appear to each recipient since it will be sent as an individual thread. For instance, when organizing an event, you can personalize the message to make it feel direct and intentional.

We offer the ability to add images, videos, or links with rich media that are personalized to each contact – making it the perfect bulk texting solution for real estate agents or investors, churches, or personal trainers and gyms.

2. Choose Contacts

Once you’ve created your message, select the contacts you want to include by either manually selecting their contact from Apple Contacts or uploading a CSV file. StraightText lets you add multiple contacts easily which is extremely helpful when reaching out to a network of people, such as friends or colleagues, without exposing everyone’s contact information.

3. Send Bulk iMessage or SMS

Once the message is finalized and contacts are selected, you can send it with a single click. StraightText works with both SMS and iMessage depending on your settings. If you turned off iMessage in your iPhone’s settings, the messages will default to SMS, ensuring replies come back individually. This approach provides privacy and eliminates confusion caused by group threads.

4. Respond Directly in iMessage App

Replies to your messages will appear separately in the default iMessage app. Each response will generate its own thread, so you can address recipients one-on-one. This organization makes managing responses simpler, whether you are confirming attendance or answering specific questions.

Send Individual Texts to Multiple Contacts at Once

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How to Send Mass Texts to Multiple Contacts Individually

While this method does work, there are several limitations. For example, you lose the end-to-end encryption that MMS and iMessage offers. Also, you are limited to a maximum of 25 contacts and you cannot personalize the message.

The basic approach using just your iPhone involves:

1. Navigate to “Settings”

Adjusting messaging settings on your iPhone enables sending texts to multiple contacts as individual messages instead of a group. Start by navigating to your iPhone’s Settings app.

2. Select “Messages”

Look for the “Messages” option and select it to access messaging-specific settings.

3. Turn Off iMessage and MMS

Inside this menu, an option labeled “MMS Messaging” can be toggled off. This prompts your phone to send text messages via SMS instead, bypassing group messaging.

4. Toggle “Group Messaging” to “Off”

Optionally, you can toggle Group Messaging to Off, but this should be disabled when MMS and iMessage is disabled.

5. Open the Messages App and Create a Group Text Message with Multiple Contacts

When you send, it should send to each contact individually and replies will be sent in each individual chat.

Once those settings are adjusted, open your iPhone’s default Messages app. Tap the compose icon to draft a new message. In the recipient field, manually enter all the contacts or search and select them from your address book. Add your text message content in the space provided, then use the send button to deliver it. The message is sent separately to each recipient without sharing replies between them.

Benefits of Using a Mass Texting Software

Using a dedicated mass texting app like StraightText takes the hassle out of managing multiple conversations. It saves you time, keeps replies organized, and ensures every message stays private. You won’t have to worry about accidentally creating a group thread or dealing with overlapping responses.

1. Send Bulk Texts to More than 25 Contacts

While the iPhone’s native Messages app limits group texts to 25 participants, mass texting software removes this restriction by sending individual messages instead of group texts.

This means you can reach many contacts while maintaining the personal touch of one-on-one conversations. Whether you’re messaging your entire customer base, sending updates to event attendees, or communicating with a large team, you won’t have to worry about artificial limits on your recipient list.

With that said, to avoid spam – we recommend limiting your sends to under 200 contacts at once.

2. Personalizing Messages with Recipient Names and Custom Fields

With StraightText, you can add a personal touch to your mass texts by automatically including each recipient’s name or custom information in your messages.

Using simple tags like ${firstName}, you can transform generic broadcasts into personalized conversations. For example, “Hi ${firstName}, your appointment is confirmed!” becomes “Hi Sarah, your appointment is confirmed!” for each recipient. This personalization helps increase engagement rates and makes your messages feel more genuine and thoughtful.

3. Managing Replies Directly in Your Regular Messages App

Since the software uses your personal phone number to send messages, all replies appear directly in your iPhone’s native Messages app and sync across your Mac too. This means:

  • You can respond to replies naturally using any Apple device
  • No need to learn a new interface or juggle multiple apps
  • All your conversations stay in one familiar place
  • Previous chat history with contacts remains intact
  • Recipients see your texts coming from your trusted number

4. Integrate with Other Business Tools through Zapier

Automate your text messaging workflows by connecting with your existing business tools through Zapier integrations. This opens up powerful possibilities like:

  • Automatically sending texts when new leads are added to your CRM
  • Triggering messages when someone fills out a Google Form
  • Sending follow-ups when a new row is added to a Google Sheet
  • Creating custom workflows based on customer actions
  • Connecting with thousands of popular business applications

This automation saves time and ensures consistent communication with your contacts while maintaining the personal touch of iMessage.

Final Thoughts

If you want to send mass texts through iMessage, we recommend using StraightText to avoid the limitations that Apple has set. However, if you just need to send a few texts to less than 25 contacts, you can do this by adjusting your messaging settings.

Forrest

About Forrest

Forrest leads marketing at StraightText, helping businesses send messages that feel personal because they are — straight from your iPhone.

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